Chapter 15 



ELECTROPHORESIS OF THE PLASMA OF DOGS IRRADL\TED 



WITH NEUTRONS 



By EDWARD B. SAXIGAR 



Near the conclusion of a study of the effects of neutron irradiation on 

 the electrophoresis pattern of rabbit plasma (1) an opportunity occurred 

 for the examination of the plasma of dogs which had been irradiated with 

 small neutron doses daily over a prolonged period. In addition, four dogs 

 were available for the study by electrophoresis of plasma changes resulting 

 from much larger neutron doses over a very much shorter period of time. 



While these opportunities did not permit a comprehensive study of the 

 effect of neutron irradiation on the electrophoresis pattern of dog plasma, 

 they yielded results which are both instructive and informative. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



Animals. The dogs whose plasmas were investigated in this study were 

 males and females from mixed breeds of the Beagle type. Prior to, and 

 during irradiation they were maintained on a diet of commercial dog food 

 (''Friskies") and water, and all were in good health when irradiation was 

 begun. 



The animals examined were divided into three groups: Group A, normal, 

 non-irradiated dogs used as controls for the Group B animals; Group B, 

 those dogs which had received relatively small daily irradiation doses 6 days 

 a week over a 12-month period, and Group C, those which were given high 

 dosages over a short 4-day period. The dogs in Groups A and B were 

 about 15 months old (except for dog B-7 which was 5 years and 3 months 

 old) when the irradiation of the Group B dogs was commenced, and their 

 weights were between 7.4 and 12.3 kg. with an average weight of 9 kg. 

 Group C dogs were 27 months old with an average weight of 12 kg. at the 

 time of their irradiation. 



Irradiation. The production of the neutrons used, their energies, and 

 the procedures and conditions of animal irradiation are described by Enns 



d al. (2). 



The animals in Group B received their prescribed daily irradiation dose 

 in one treatment lasting approximately 5 minutes, the difference in dosage 

 rate being due to the position of the cage in which each animal was regu- 

 larly placed for irradiation (2). The four dogs in Group C received 115-n 



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